Visiting the Folks

Posted on 12/19/2020 @ 5:36pm by Lieutenant Commander Kiernan Gallagher VII
Edited on on 03/02/2021 @ 6:19pm

Mission: S3E1: Time of Change
Location: Gallagher Family Home - Milwaukee, WI
Timeline: Day 92 at 1400

Rachel Gallagher pulled her son into a hug… and didn’t let go.

Kiernan Gallagher had decided it was time to take the day to go home to Milwaukee to see his parents. He had to inform them of several things, the first being that it would be a long time before he saw them again. With his new transfer to the Sitting Bull he would be gone for a couple of years at least. It also meant a transfer out of Starfleet and into the Exploratory Corps. That still seemed like an odd thing to even think about, especially since he fought so hard to be in Starfleet, there was a small part of him that felt like he was betraying the organization, however, Starfleet wasn’t willing to go out into the unknown at this time.

“Okay ma, I can’t breathe,” Kiernan said, his words muffled. He felt her arms lessen their grip, instead of fully letting him go, she pulled him into the house that he grew up in. Not much had changed since the last time he had visited, but then again, he didn’t expect it too.

“You are looking awfully thin,” Rachel said as she surveyed her only son.

“You always say that!” Kiernan replied, waving off his mother’s worries. “I’m exactly the same as I was the last time I saw you and pa.” He stepped into the family room to see a room decorated with a Christmas tree and other decorations, old and new. Rachel loved any holiday she could decorate, and Kiernan had fond memories of sitting in the family room with his ma as she unwrapped antique ornaments, or decorations and told a story about each one. His mother was a treasure trove of stories from both the Gallagher side, and her own side, the Byrne family. His mother had a way of telling a story that drew you in, this was probably why her students loved her so much.

“Is pa around?” he asked. He looked around as if the elder Gallagher were hiding behind the chair or couch.

Rachel shook her head. “No, he is at the medical complex, he was given a new batch of residents, civilian and Starfleet to lead for rounds this semester.” She moved to the kitchen, and Kiernan was in tow. “I just wish he would retire already, but I suppose he has a lot of years ahead of him before he will want to do that.”

Kiernan didn’t know what to say to that, his mother wasn’t ready to retire either. However, when he walked into the kitchen, he saw something he had thought he would never see in his parents’ home… a replicator. “This wasn’t here the last time I visited,” he said, hooking his thumb over his shoulder at the device that was embedded in the wall by the kitchen door that led out into the backyard.

“Och, don’t get me started on that contraption,” Rachel complained, waving Kiernan words away with a flick of her wrist. “Your father insisted we have one, and I gave in.” She grabbed some bread and the ingredients to make her son’s favorite, peanut butter, and jam sandwich. “Though, I will admit that it has been nice not to have to cook all the time. Your father has been at the medical complex so much that it has been helpful for him just to replicate what he wants when he finally makes it home for the evening.”

Kiernan nodded. Again, he didn’t know what to add to that, so instead he took a seat at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Even though he had waved off anything to eat, he knew his mother was going to make him his favorite, in which there was no reason to argue at that point. It was going to happen whether he wanted it or not.

“Where is Otis?” Rachel queried.

At the question, Kiernan pulled his attention back to where his mother stood. “He is with Oskar; they are spending time downtown at Arrow Park ice rink.” Arrow Park ice rink had been a tradition for hundreds of years, and every year, throughout the pandemic, and World War III, and other pandemics, and other wars, they still opened every year. It was a tradition in Milwaukee, just like Candy Cane lane was near the south west side. “I wanted to speak to you and pa alone without Oskar here.”

Rachel finished smearing the jam on the one side of the bread, closed it up and cut the sandwich diagonally. She placed the plate in front of her son and went to pour a glass of milk. “Didn’t want to freak Oskar out by meeting your mother in person?” She smirked at that as she placed the glass of milk down.

She wasn’t totally wrong, but Kiernan also didn’t want her making a big scene in front of Oskar either. What he was about to say could cause an uproar. “I wanted to talk to you about two things, two rather important things,” he began. He went to take a bite of his sandwich but decided against it. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Do you still have gramps’ wedding band?” he asked, his voice soft, his cheeks colored a light crimson.

“Why would you…?” Then it dawned on Rachel why her only son was asking. “Kiernan, are you going to ask what I think you are going to ask?”

It took Kiernan a few beats to even respond. “I’d like to… I mean, yes, I…” he again paused. “He is the one ma; I can feel it in my heart. I love him so much, and I know he loves me. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Plus…” he went quiet again, taking the moment to take a bit of his sandwich. “I-I-I accepted a new assignment, and I’m hoping Oskar will come with me.”

Rachel’s eyebrow arched up. She had been afraid of this, she just wanted Kiernan to get this silly exploration stuff out of his head and come back to earth. She could think of a dozen institutions of higher learning where he could teach. “How long will you be gone this time?” she asked. She got up from her own chair and moved back to the stove to put on a pot of water for tea.

Kiernan shrugged. “A while… two years at least, maybe more.” His words were quiet, as if he was admitting something he shouldn’t have. He had always thought his mom would be a good for Starfleet Intelligence, she could get things out of people without so much as batting an eyelash. He and his sister, Emily, never got away with anything where their mother was involved. He had decided that would be as far as he would go right now.

“I thought you just transferred to the Crazy Horse, now you are transferring again?” Rachel sighed. She pulled a mug from the cupboard and set it down on the island. “I don’t understand. You stayed static for so long and now you have had three transfers in a year.” She shook her head in dismay. “What is the new ship?”

“The Sitting Bull.”

“Starfleet certainly has a weird naming system,” Rachel commented. She got her loose tea ready and waited for the kettle to whistle.

Kiernan was about to say it wasn’t Starfleet, but he didn’t want to go into all that… at least not yet. He needed to change back to the ring. “I’ll let the people who name ships know your displeasure,” he said, rolling his eyes. “So, are you going to let me have gramps ring?”

The kettle whistled and with a hot pad in hand, Rachel brought it to the island and began to prepare her tea. She sat adjacent to Kiernan. “I don’t know…”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Kiernan looked at his mother, his brow scrunched in frustration. “It was promised to me, I am being nice asking, but I certainly didn’t have to.” If his mother didn’t relent, he would just go to his dad. His mother knew he would, so she was being coy.

“I like Oskar, I do, I can tell he loves you,” Rachel said. She looked down at the dark liquid in her mug before lifting her gaze toward her only son. “But he isn’t even Irish, and…” she closed her mouth, her lips forming a thin line.

Again, Kiernan found himself rolling his eyes as anger started to boil in the pit of his belly. “And what, ma? Out with it?”

“And… well, what about your pa and I… and Emily and the family?”

There it was! His mother wanted to throw a big wedding, to have a large event that would include to many people to count. That made Kiernan’s stomach twist and knot up. He never would have wanted something like that. He was fine with two witnesses and a captain or admiral marrying him. “I don’t know ma… I have yet to even ask. I mean, Oskar, might say no.” He had thought about that as well, and he couldn’t decide if he would be crushed, or fine. No one was ever prepared for the ‘no’ in a marriage proposal.

“He will say yes,” Rachel replied, her voice full of a confidence.

“You don’t know that ma.”

“I do, especially if he knows what is good for him,” Rachel said. She took a hold of her son’s hand and squeezed. “He would be lucky to be your husband, honey. Don’t ever doubt that.” She let go of his hand and cupped her only son’s cheek. It was the first time she had noticed he hadn’t had his beard, and at that, she remembered all the times he and her sat at this very island and had lunch. He would tell her about his day, and she would tell him about hers. She longed for those days, but time had slipped through her fingers and both her children were grown. How did that even happen?

Kiernan smiled. “Thanks ma, that means a lot to me and I’m lucky to have him as well… heck, I was lucky that I found him at all. I am even luckier he wanted to transfer with me to the Crazy Horse.” He knew how lucky he was, which meant Oskar had been just as invested in this relationship as he was.

“We can just have a party when you and he return from this new God-forsaken mission into God knows where.” Rachel sighed.

“He may not even say yes.”

“He will.”

Kiernan smiled at his mother, he was glad she was confident, because he still wasn’t so sure how Oskar would respond. Instead, he just nodded his agreement and then took another bit of his sandwich.

**

A Post By:

Lieutenant Kiernan M. Gallagher VII, PhD
In-between assignments.

&

Rachel Byrne-Gallagher
Kiernan's Mother